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It's not unusual for hockey enthusiasts to complain about public-address systems that are unclear, or loud music being played at arenas.

In fact, it would probably be odd if those complaints were not made each season.

“I've been around for a long time and it's always, always been an issue every year, especially the volume of it (music),” says Nick Apostle, the city commissioner of community services.

Apostle says staff track complaints they receive about the PA system at the Essar Centre, the city's premier sports and entertainment complex, and home of the Soo Greyhounds.

“We get (complaints about) two issues. One is the loudness of the pre-game music ... And another one is the clarity of the announcements.”

A sound technician is on hand to deal with issues related to clarity, Apostle said.

However, when it comes to the type of music or how loud it is played at Hounds games, those are issues the Greyhounds organization deal with because they make the decisions about those things, said Apostle.

Director of game day operations and community relations with the Hounds, Megan Dubas, says they “do get quite a bit of complaints” from fans.

“It's more (about) the loudness and how people can't socialize or talk to their friends in the stands.”

Dubas said the players request the music be loud. It's about generating excitement.

“That's why we play the music louder for warmups,” she said.

“Anything with that is usually involved with just trying to create an atmosphere for our players to play in, and kind of get them pumped up.”

She said the team realizes there are a number of fans that wear hearing aids and they have taken that into consideration, “And been turning down the music as much as we can.”

“Overall, we need to make our players happy and our fans happy,” she said.

“We do try our best, but at the end of the day we can only please so many people.”

The city recently set up a guest services booth on the main concourse in the Essar Centre that is open during Greyhounds games where fans can register concerns or complaints.

“And we'll follow up with them,” Apostle said.

It could be a “generational thing,” he added, because a lot of the complaints are from “more mature” enthusiasts.

One season-ticket holder who has been been involved with local sports for decades agrees it could be generational.

Don Edwards is a senior citizen who wears hearing aids. He has been a season-ticket holder for 20 years and says the PA system at Hounds games is too loud and bothers his ears, even with his aids set on low.

The music between periods is too loud and so are the announcements, he said.

“Even when they make the announcements, I can't understand half of them. It's not clear. It's so loud it's unclear,” Edwards said.

Sault Star columnist Doug Millroy is also a long-time season ticket holder.

Millroy admitted in a recent column that his hearing is not what it once was.

“But I am not alone in complaining about what the Essar Centre is passing off as a legitimate sound system,” he stated in his Oct. 5 column.

He suggests fans must compare notes in an effort to understand what is said by the announcer.

“It is a constant complaint in Sec. 119, where I sit,” Millroy said.

“The words may be clear going into the microphone held by the person in the booth but they sure aren't when coming out of the speakers.”

Apostle admits clarity does seem to be an issue. Sometimes the problem is related to equipment, such as microphones and amplifiers. But part of the issue has to do with announcers, some of whom have not been trained to speak into a mic in the same way an experienced radio announcer may talk into a mic, he said.

“There are some concerns there,” Apostle said.

“We try to do some training” by bringing in experienced radio personalities to work with announcers.